Hye! Thank you very much for reading this fic… Sigh, when I start writing a story, I can't stop and now it is longer just like the others… anyway… I hope you like this… domo… ^^
DISCLAIMER: The Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi-sensei and Gakuen Alice belongs to Higuchi Tachibana-san. All rights reserved to the both of them.
SwEeTanGel - tee hee, he did use it alright... I didn't have a choice though... but I am not sure if Earth Alice is the right word but I'll consider maybe... :3
tee hee hee... yeah... I remembered Momo's alice is Water so why not combine it with the ice? :3
yep... game lan talaga ang peg...
tee hee... I will not answer that question I already gave the hint so I didn't continue it until in this chapter... feel free to discover how... :3
thank you very much... next Chapter is up now... ^^
Chapter 24: Tears are Worth Fighting For
Chapter Summary: They were Jumis and Jumis couldn't shed tears. If they couldn't, who would?
They were just staring straight at the creature. Natsume was raging at that moment. He bit his lower lip to bleed.
Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes or else his best friend would die. If he couldn't think of anything to save Ruka, he would lose him forever. He didn't want that to happen.
"Hey," He looked at Ryoma, "Let's do it again."
"No need to remind me." He said as he dribbled the ball on the ground and hit it with full force.
Natsume put flame on it while it was spinning through the creature's body. This time, the creature just absorbed it. Natsume cursed when their attack failed.
"Natsume…" Mikan said looking at the raging fire alice user in front of her. She too was worried about her friend. She didn't want to lose him either.
The rest tried to help each other and Sakuno tried to protect them with her barrier. Kokoroyomi and Youichi were behind her.
Later on, a rope and grapevine wrapped around the creature's humongous body. All of them were a little surprised and looked at the source of who did that.
"Fuji-senpai?" Sakuno whispered as she saw the tensai controlling the movement of the vine.
"Pay attention to the creature, minna," He said concentration at his own alice, "I can't hold him for long."
"Let's attack everyone," Tsubasa said using his shadow manipulating alice to help Fuji to keep it still, "All at once."
The rest readied for an attack at the same time. Seconds was the only interval when something interrupted their attack. An explosion was created from the upper part of the ceiling and made their actions put on hold to a completely stop.
Mist was around the area and good thing that Sakuno was quick enough to cover them from the explosion. Fuji noticed her own alice and was really impressed of her.
Eiji was the one who spotted something from the mist, "Ah! Look!" He said pointing out the person lying on the ground.
"E-Elazul-san!" Sakuno saw him when the mist disappeared from the area.
Elazul was slowly standing up, his clothes were ruined and he was bruised all over. He used his own sword to support his body. He looked up and stared at that direction. Everyone followed his line of vision and saw who he was looking at.
BlackPearl standing at a steel bar and was still looking unharmed. She was somewhat serious at that moment. They knew that something happened.
"She's there, I know," He muttered under his breath, "I can feel her. I know she's there," He walked closer to her location, "I know you can hear me, PEARL!"
Blackpearl screamed as she lounged towards that knight colliding with their swords together. The rest just watched the fight for they still remembered the promise they made to him.
Not to interfere with his fight with BlackPearl.
"You are annoying! She will not answer you!" She said swinging her sword at him back and forth while Elazul was just walking backwards, "She's long gone. Why don't you just admit it?"
"Why don't you admit it yourself?" The knight said still trying to convince her, "She's you, you want to be pure just like the white one. Just like you."
"…"
"You are the same. You are one," The knight said moving closer to her, "You are—"
"N-no!" Sakuno tried to reach them but Fuji stopped her. The tensai was also shocked as everyone did.
Elazul's core was being hunted by BlackPearl's hand. The girl's hand was inside Elazul's chest and all she had to do was to pull it out. The knight's eyes widened when he felt BlackPearl's hand inside his body. He looked at her and smiled before he dropped the sword and reached for her cheek;
"Pearl…"
BlackPearl's eyes widened as she was trying to control something. She recklessly pulled her hand out from his chest and a blinding light appeared between them. Everyone closed their eyes because of the light. When the light's gone, they slowly opened their eyes and shocked registered to them.
Just like Ruka, Elazul became a stone.
BlackPearl was looking at the green core in her hand, "Elazul's core," She looked at the creature, "Do you want it, right?"
"D-don't!" Sakuno screamed, "Pearl-san! He's your knight!" She used her alice to block her way to the creature, "You'll never see him again if you do that!"
The girl stopped walking when she said that.
"H-he cares for you, he worries about you, and he always looks after you," Sakuno said who was already in the arm of Fuji while still concentrating on his alice with the other, "D-don't… just throw it away!"
Hotaru and Kokoroyomi just looked at the scene. The latter shifted his attention from them to Ruka and then to the lord of Jewels. They had to do something or else Ruka would die. They only had nine minutes left to save Ruka's life.
Ryoma and Natsume were doing the same thing. Together with Momo and Nobara, they were stopped from attacking the creature. There were being assisted with the others and they were all looking at BlackPearl.
"Please, give it back," Sakuno pleaded her, "Give the core back to Elazul-san."
"…"
"…"
"BlackPearl, give that to me!" The lord of jewels announced making the ground tremor because of its huge voice. It was still on trance, "Are you disobeying me now?"
"No!" She immediately answered as she looked at the core, "No."
"Then stop wasting my time and give that to me."
"Yes." She said as she broke Sakuno's barrier and walked closer to the creature.
"BlackPearl-san!" The pigtailed girl tried to call her once again but it was useless.
She was a few meters away when someone interrupted them. Someone threw something at the creature. It was an ordinary stone aiming for its forehead.
And it was thrown by Kokoroyomi.
"You will never win," Kokoroyomi said as he threw another stone to its forehead, "We can win this if they will see it!"
"Kokoroyomi…" Tsubasa looked at the mind reader. The latter knew that it was useless throwing stone, a normal stone at the creature.
"We will not give up!" He threw a stone once again at the same spot.
Ryoma and the others followed his movements.
"Ruka-pyon's life depends on it!" He hit another.
Fuji and Sakuno were even looking at him. Blackpearl was also doing the same thing.
"That's our main target!" He hit another.
Seconds later, he stopped throwing pebbles. The others became wide-eyed as they noticed something. The creature laughed after that making everyone panic at the vibration it was creating.
"You are funny but the game's over." The creature said and pointed Ruka, "He'll die in a few minutes from now."
"No, he's not."
Everyone looked at the person who talked last.
Ryoma was dribbling another tennis ball in his hand as his hat was covering his face. Everyone was looking at his movements. Sakuno was even watching him like he was facing a serious match. He pointed his racket to the creature and smirked;
"Match point." With that he hit the tennis ball with full force and it was followed by Natsume's flame to aid the pressure.
And it hit the creature's forehead.
The creature screamed painfully when the ball hit its forehead. It said cusses and curses as its body was covered with light. BlackPearl covered her eyes due to the blinding light.
Sakuno was really amazed that they figured it out without her telling them. Then she remembered something. She looked at Kokoroyomi who was smiling the usual. He could read minds of course he read hers especially when she was thinking that time. Since the creature prohibited her to tell them where its core was, she couldn't tell the others about it or Ruka would die.
She didn't tell him directly so it was not included at all besides the creature didn't know about it. Kokoroyomi gave the others some hints where they could locate the stone. And the pebble did that trick.
As soon as the light disappeared, they slowly opened their eyes. There was another light on top of the creature and everyone was looking at it.
"That's…" Eiji said looking at it.
"…A magical stone." Fuji continued Eiji's words.
They watched the light went above Sakuno. The pigtailed girl was just looking at it. She only closed her eyes when the stone went onto her forehead and inserted itself inside her. As long as the light went out from her, the light from Ruka suddenly appeared from his body. She witnessed how Ruka returned to his human form. He blinked for several times as he looked at his hands.
"What happen—"
"Ruka-kun!"
Everyone was really shocked at the next event, especially for Ryoma. He saw with his amber eyes the way Sakuno jumped on the animal pheromone user. Her eyes closed and tears were falling down from them.
But she was smiling.
"Yokatta…" She whispered to him while hugging his neck, "Yokatta Ruka-kun… I am so glad."
"R-Ryuzaki…" Ruka blushed to the fullest as he dropped the rabbit in the process and held her shoulder. He tapped her back when he recovered from the shock.
They stayed like that for a few seconds before someone coughed behind them.
"I would've separated from her if I were you," Fuji said who 'coughed' a while ago and smiled at them as always, "I don't want to experience their wrath."
Sakuno and Ruka looked at what Fuji was pointing at. It was Ryoma… and Youichi, emanating dark auras around them. They looked at each other, blushed and separated afterwards, muttering an apology at each other.
"We're not done yet." Natsume called their attention.
He was right. BlackPearl was still there, holding Elazul's core. She was just standing where she was being left but she was not moving. The creature was long disappeared but it left Sandra lying on the ground and another one.
"BlackPearl-san," Mikan said this time, "return the core to your knight, please."
"…"
"You are not bad, I know," Mikan said, "I've proven it a while ago. You are not really bad."
BlackPearl ignored her words and she was just staring at the core in front of her. Why did I stop a while ago? Why was I affected at their words? This is Elazul, the one who killed me years ago. I should have my revenge now. But why am I hesitating? Suddenly the core suddenly became blurry to her eyes. She touched her face when she felt something. She looked at the liquid substance from her hand, "What's this?"
"That's what you call tears." Sakuno suddenly said.
BlackPearl looked at them. They were all looking at her with the same shock experience that she had, "W-what?!"
"You are sad, upset, suffering," Sakuno explained as she clenched her chest with her hand, "You feel them inside you. You are crying, BlackPearl-san."
"I-impossible! Jumi can't cry!" The girl said as she wiped her tears but it kept on falling, "This can't be happening!"
"It is happening," Mikan said smiling weakly at her, "You feel bad at the core that you are holding."
BlackPearl continued looking at them. She just couldn't believe it. A jumi could cry, a jumi like her. She looked at the braided pigtailed girl a while ago. She had seen her crying for several times because of her petrified stone friend a while ago and then the knight before she was about to surrender it to the lord of jewels.
The girl was crying for the other people.
She gripped the core really hard before she looked at the knight who was still petrified.
"He's calling you, isn't he?" Fuji said this time, "You can hear him that's why you are crying."
"This knight," She said closing her eyes in the process, "The white one is calling out to him either." She walked closer to the knight as she looked at the core she was holding, "No one needs this anymore." She muttered before she inserted the core back to the knight's chest.
Light blinded them once again. It took seconds before Elazul was back to normal. Everyone saw it and was finally relieved to know that everyone was fine.
"Pearl."
…Or not.
BlackPearl sighed as he looked at the knight, "I know how you feel but she could no longer return to you."
"That's not true," Elazul said walking closer to her, "I could hear her while I was petrified seconds ago. She was calling out to me,"
"Because you were connected in your senses," the girl said, "You were not connected to me."
"W-what will happen to her." Elazul just looked at her.
BlackPearl looked away, "I am sorry."
Sakuno covered her mouth when she heard that. She cried once again and she couldn't help it this time. Mikan and Ruka were besides her comforting her there. It felt so sad of not seeing the person that he cared the most.
She didn't want that to happen to her.
BlackPearl flinched a little when Elazul's hand went to her cheek once again. She looked at him with widened eyes.
"This is a tear." He said staring at his hand that had a tear of her, "She's crying inside you."
"…"
"Jumis can't cry," Fuji announced to everyone, "Pearl-san was somehow could do it."
"I can help the both of you."
All of them looked at the last person who talked. From the previous location where the creature was, there was a fine lady in white standing up in the process. Sandra was still unconscious behind her.
"Who are you?" Natsume said stepping in front of them.
"Diana." BlackPearl said couldn't believe who she was seeing at that moment. She walked closer to the fine lady.
"It's good to see you again, BlackPearl." Diana said smiling at her.
The girl kneeled in front of her, "I've been waiting to meet you again."
Diana grabbed her shoulder and gestured her to stand up, "You finally found me."
"Diana?" Elazul was pretty shocked to her standing in front of them, "Were you the lord the jewels?"
Diana looked at the knight before she looked at everyone, "I was absorbed by a negative energy and turned me into a creature. I could see what was happening around me but I couldn't do anything to stop myself."
BlackPearl and Elazul looked down when they realized that.
"Negative energy?" Fuji asked her opening his eyes in the process.
Diana nodded as she looked at Sakuno, "You already have it."
Sakuno blinked for several times before she understood what she was talking about. She held her chest and clenched it hard. She didn't know but something painful stung her there.
"The energy somewhat made me greedy for powers. No, it was more than that. I was too obsessed of having more power that I already have," Diana said looking away, "I think that was what transformed me into a monster."
"Diana."
The fine lady looked at her and touched her cheek, "But the people here saved me, also you cried for me."
BlackPearl was shocked when she said that. She was crying once again. Not only that, Diana also shed tears. Even Elazul had one but he hid it well.
The jumis were crying at the same time.
"I can help the two of you." Diana said after that before she created a magic in her hands. Soon after, a crystal like ball appeared to her hands… with a light inside it.
Everyone was shocked once again.
"That's!" Momo said pointing at the crystal ball.
"A magical stone!" Eiji continued.
"I actually received two negative energies and this is the other one," Diana said looking at the ball, "I could turn everyone back to normal who lost their core because of me with this."
"Really?" Elazul was really surprised at the information he discovered.
The fine lady closed her eyes and concentrated at the crystal ball. Seconds later, lights had started to escape from the ball and created figures around them. Everyone looked amazed when they saw the figures were forming into something better.
They were forming into human.
…Jumi people.
The team felt happy that the people were back to the city. Even Sandra woke up and couldn't believe what was happening. The jumis were back and all of them were there.
…Except for one.
"Where's Pearl?" Elazul looked around but he couldn't see her.
"Elazul," Diana called his attention, "We all know that Pearl was only created through BlackPearl's shattered core and since it's completely whole, she also returned of being BlackPearl's core."
"But you said that you—"
"I can bring her back but," Diana said looking at Sakuno, "We have to make sacrifices."
Sakuno was a little shocked when Diana looked at her. Somehow, her heart pounded too fast. She knew that something big was about to happen.
"You have the ability to revive someone, am I correct?" Diana asked her.
Fuji and the rest were able to grasp the meaning of Diana's question.
"No!"
"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno was pretty shocked before she could even answer the fine lady. Ryoma was already in front of her.
"You will not let her." He stubbornly said.
"I am afraid I have to agree." Fuji said, "Her life source will decrease when she uses that power."
"I see, I didn't know," Diana said, "I am sorry."
"How did you know that she has the ability?" Fuji asked her.
"I could sense her healing ability. It is weak but I can recognize it." Diana said.
"Ryoma-kun," She said grabbing his shoulder from behind, "I…"
"No," He firmly said, "You pinky swore about it."
"I—I know but," She looked at Elazul who was hoping that there was a way to bring Pearl back, "Just a little."
"Ryuzaki!" Ryoma almost shouted.
"What are you saying?" Momo walked closer to her, "You are going to use your healing alice, Ryuzaki-chan!"
Fuji and Eiji looked at her and never said anything but they were worried.
Sakuno nodded and looked at Diana, "I could only use a little, right?"
"Yes, but are you sure?" Diana looked at her.
Nodded at her, "I can see Pearl-san in me. I wish her back."
"Very well then," Diana said facing her completely, "Place your hand on the crystal ball."
Sakuno nodded and walked closer to the ball. Ryoma tried to stop her but Fuji stopped him instead. Mikan was also worried about her. She flinched when Natsume uncharacteristically held her hand at that moment. The braided pigtailed girl placed her hand to the ball and looked at the fine lady.
"BlackPearl, please place your hand on the crystal ball as well." Diana said.
BlackPearl followed without saying anything.
"Once the energy is out, your power will also join forces and after that the light will go inside you as well." Diana explained.
Sakuno nodded as she understood everything.
Diana concentrated on the crystal ball. Few seconds later, Sakuno and BlackPearl started glowing. The former had already transmitted some life source towards the ball and went to the latter's hand. A force was pushed to BlackPearl's body but her body didn't budge.
There was another body being pushed away from her own body and fell on the ground. Elazul couldn't believe it. He could see her lying on the ground.
"Pearl!" He ran to her and lifted her head.
Meanwhile, the light was already transferred to Sakuno. Ryoma and the others were aware of her condition at that moment. Sakuno was looking at them.
Pearl had gained consciousness and was touching Elazul's cheek, "H-hello, Elazul."
Elazul couldn't help but smile at her, "Baka!" He hugged her after he said that, "What took you so long?"
Diana and BlackPearl looked at each other and smiled afterwards. Pearl smiled as she too shed tears after that. Everything was back to normal again. Their happiness was only temporary when they heard a thug near them. Everyone was shocked when they saw Sakuno fell on the ground unconsciously. Ryoma was the first one to attend to her.
They knew that it was already serious and they had to complete the magical stones as soon as possible.
There were only two stones left.
Done! How was this chapter? A lot had happened. Sakuno was unconscious once again. Find out what will happen next… Thank you very much… ^^
Diana – A jumi of Diamond jewel. She's BlackPearl's guardian if I remember it correctly.
Reviews please! Let me hear your thoughts. Thank you very much.
I do not own everything here especially the names from the anime and the games.
Next Chapter: Prologue to Farewell